Light fixtures can be categorized in many different ways. For example, there are indoor light fixtures and outdoor light fixtures; and there are "low" voltage (typically 12 VAC) and "line" voltage (typically 110 VAC) fixtures. Although those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention could certainly be applied to indoor and/or line voltage fixtures, for the sake of brevity the following discussion will focus on outdoor low voltage light fixtures.
Although there is a tremendous variety of outdoor low voltage light fixtures, for purposes of the present discussion such fixtures can be divided into two very broad classes, namely "ground" lights and "deck" lights. A "ground" light is defined herein as an outdoor low voltage light which can be secured to the ground, usually by means of a pointed stake or the like. Examples include temple lights, flood lights, path lights and post lights.
Deck lights, the other type of outdoor low voltage lights, are designed to attach to and illuminate wooden steps or decks, for example. Reference is made to deck lights produced by Intermatic and MinnFac. Such deck lights include wooden "posts" or other supports which carry lamp/lens assemblies. The posts can be nailed or screwed to any wooden structure.
There are unquestionably many different applications for outdoor low voltage lights. They can be called upon to illuminate bushes, flowers, gardens, walkways, landscaping details such as fountains, and architectural details such as doors and steps.
In view of the wide range of applications for outdoor low voltage lights, attempts have been made to render "ground" lights adjustable or adaptable. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,648, assigned to the assignee herein, which shows a temple light, the baffles and cap of which can be removed or added to create various lighting effects. Reference is also made to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 201,713, filed June 3, 1988, assigned to the assignee herein, which shows a flood/spot light which can be adjusted to produce a broad beam (in the floodlight mode) or a fairly narrow beam (in the spotlight mode). Post lights have been made adjustable as well. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,961, still another Toro patent which discloses a post light, wherein the number and spacing of the baffles or louvers can be adjusted to create various aesthetic effects.
Although adjustability and adaptability have been designed into some "ground" lights, as discussed above, these desirous features or aspects have not been applied to deck lights. For example, the Intermatic and MinnFac deck lights can be mounted in only a limited number of ways, to fit a small number of applications. Although these lights are useful for their intended purposes, they are not sufficiently flexible or adaptable to meet the many possible uses of deck lights. Such uses would include being mounted to deck posts, steps, deck edges, rails, landscape timbers, walls, etc., in a variety of orientations to throw light upwardly, downwardly and laterally.
The present invention is particularly directed to an extremely versatile deck light. The deck light of the present invention can be easily adapted to mount to deck posts, steps, deck edges, rails, etc., so as to be useful in a wide variety of deck lighting applications. In fact, in a preferred embodiment the deck light of the present invention can even be configured as a "ground" light.